Basic clown loach question

[patryuji]

How fast do they grow given water with a pH of 7.4 and temperature of 76 degrees fahrenheit?

I am considering buying a small (1.5") clown loach for my 10Gallon tank. I am planning to upgrade to a tank of at least 29 gallons in less than a year.

Current inhabitants of my tank are 3 spotted corydoras and an ever growing population of snails (I nearly eradicated them in the beginning but decided that I might want a loach and I should allow them to proliferate as a food source).

I do know of the smaller loaches (skunk, and dwarf) but they tend to be a bit more aggressive and I want to keep a semi-peaceful community tank.

 

[Allivymar]

Ack; sorry patryuji, but even at lower temps a clown is too small for a 10g for more then a couple of weeks (say, a QT period) for a number of reasons.

Smaller tanks can stunt a clowns growth; they need room to move and clean water which is hard to maintain in a smaller tank. Also 76F is a little too low a temp for em (77-86F is the range; I keep mine at 82F and they love it. If you are keeping them with corys I suggest temps around 79-80F - should suit them both well). Lastly, clowns should be in groups of a minimum of 3; there obviously isn't enough room in a 10g for 3 of em. I suggest waiting until you get your 29g before purchasing; you should have around 6 months to a year before you'll need to upgrade the tank size again (29g is still too small for a permanent tank for em; they can get to be a foot long - mine have put on between 1 1/2- 2 1/2" in 6 months). Once you do, you can QT the loaches in the 10g; they'll love you for it with all those snails*grin*

Why the wait on the larger tank btw?

 

[patryuji]

I may be moving within a few months and it would be much easier to move a smaller tank than a larger tank.

Also I am going to be talking to my father about getting his old tank (70 gallons?) he had to quite the hobby in 89 when we moved to Japan so his tank has been sitting around for quite awhile. Thus I was just considering temporary homes until I get the big tank (I can't quite afford to spend the money for a new big tank and ancillary equipment right now anyways).

Additionally when done with the 10 gallon and 29 gallon I would have a QT and small home to house possibly a species tank (or if I get a peaceful predator I could just toss some livebearers in the 29 gallon and grow my own food).

 

[Allivymar]

Ahh ok. Gotcha. I'm just hesitant to say go ahead as I know life throws us curves sometimes, and I'd hate for you to be stuck with a few clowns and a 10g tank, know what I mean? That 70g would be perfect tho! And thumbs up on the preplanning; a QT tank? Awesome )

And if you haven't seen them yet, do check out the pics of Bob's loaches at loaches.com: http://www.loaches.com/species_pages/clown_bob.html . Those are some big puppies; and I think Basil is even bigger (those pics are over 3 yrs old!). Loaches.com is a great place for loach specific info btw.

 

[madasafish]

Rockin' link. Any idea how big Bob's tank is, Alli? It looks like a 180 or something with that depth.

 

[Menagerie]

I'm glad I read this before getting a clown loach for my 80 gal cichlid tank. I already have a common pleco in there! 8O

 

[Allivymar]

Heh, quite the beastie boys eh?

I have 3 in my 55g, along with an 8 inch liposarcus (often sold as a common plec). At some point the plec will be moved on; prob when it reaches a foot long, as its not very graceful and will have probs moving easily in the 55g. The loaches will stay longer; from what I can see usually one loach is the big boy, generally the dominant one. The others don't quite get quite so big (of my 3, 2 were bought together and the same size; one has swiftly outgrown it and the third I purchased an month later). Also, loaches don't grow as fast as the plecs.

Dunno the size of Bob's tanks, but he has a website of his own with TONS of loach pics; he's the loach king IMHO LOL: http://www.bobd.lunarpages.com/loaches/